HSJ: Management and coaches met to discuss what’s best for rookie Michael Rasmussen early this past week. At times, he’s looked like a deer caught in headlights. It’s tough for a 19-year-old to make the jump from juniors to the NHL on a good team, all the more so on a team that’s struggled as much as the Wings have.

The Wings drafted Rasmussen at ninth overall in 2017. It’s unfortunate that Rasmussen is not AHL-eligible, because that’s where he’d be best off right now — learning how much faster the pro game is, but at a step below the NHL. However, because he has a year left of junior eligibility, he either has to play for the Wings, or be sent back to juniors (the guy picked sixth overall in 2017, Cody Glass, has already been shipped back to his junior team by Vegas).

If Rasmussen plays more than nine games with the Wings, the first year of his entry-level contract kicks in. That alone won’t be the determining factor, though — it’ll be whether the coaching staff sees Rasmussen capable of playing much better than he has through two weeks.

My sense is the Wings don’t want to send Rasmussen back to juniors, but they need to see more from him, and quickly, to not do so. Blashill said Friday the Wings will try to get Rasmussen “up to speed” via drills in practice. Asked if that means the Wings will drag out Rasmussen’s stay by not playing him, Blashill answered yes.

#Heleneonhockey Even in what is obviously a challenging year, I think change is needed. Is Blashill's job in jeopardy or is there a personnel change that has to be done on this team?

HSJ: Not as long as the Wings play well. The back-to-back lopsided losses at Boston and Montreal were ugly, but let’s be realistic: this has been a team that’s had to field as many as four rookie defensemen, one of whom (Libor Sulak, since sent to Grand Rapids) had never played on the smaller North American ice sheet until last month. The team does not have an elite defenseman nor superstar scorers. My sense is management and ownership isn’t about to fire Blashill so long as the team looks competitive — asses how they play in a game more so than the result. Take the Tampa Bay game — the Wings lost but played well against an extremely talented opponent.

When Dan Bylsma was signed this past summer to a three-year contract, the optics made it look like he’s the successor if Blashill is fired. But I don’t sense that’s coming unless things really fall apart. Bear in mind, too, the ownership and management recognize how hard it’s been to start the season with as many as five veteran defensemen injured. The loss of Mike Green — arguably the team’s best defenseman last season — has been especially mitigating.

#Heleneonhockey: Do You Think Steve Yzerman Will Return To Red Wing Management Next Season? How Much Longer Do You Think It Will Take Before The Red Wings Are A Playoff Team again?

HSJ: Steve Yzerman is a man who keeps his cards close to the vest, and his September announcement that he was stepping back stunned the hockey world. He said he wanted to spend more time with his family (they stayed in metro Detroit when he took the general manager job with Tampa Bay in 2010). Yzerman is in the last year of his contract with the Lightning.

Regarding the second question, as badly as the Wings have started, I think they are overall trending in the right direction. They’ve had two really good drafts. Defenseman Dennis Cholowski, their first-round pick from 2016, has been one of the bright spots through the first two weeks. Look for Gustav Nyquist to be moved for draft picks this season, as he’s in the last year of his contract. Maybe Jimmy Howard, too, if there’s a situation where a team eyeing a playoff run needs goaltending help (I could see the Wings bringing Howard, back, though, on a two-year deal — he’s been good two seasons running, and there isn’t a goaltending prospect in the organization who is on the near horizon).

Nyquist, Howard and Niklas Kronwall are all in the last years of their contracts, so there’ll be money freed up for free agency, should someone worthy make it to market (ahem, Erik Karlsson).

Depending on the growth of the young core, and what happens via free agency, I could see the Wings being a playoff team as soon as 2019-20.

#Heleneonhockey Was the ‘60 minutes of hell’ tagline some sick joke on the fans watching the team this year?

HSJ: It certainly rendered itself open to skewering given no one outside the locker room saw this team as playoff bound. Blashill intended it as a message to players to be “60 minutes of hell” to play against, but so far those shirts are ripe for ridicule.

Contact Helene St. James: hstjames@freepress.com. Follow her on Twitter @helenestjames.